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Despite a winless tour, Zimbabwe have generally committed themselves admirably in South Africa – the Benoni debacle aside – and team captain Elton Chigumbura insisted that the experience of playing top-level opponents would be helpful as Zimbabwe seek to continue their development.”It’s been a positive series for us, despite the results, especially on the batting front,” Chigumbura told ESPNcricinfo. “Today was just a bad day for us all round. But for the tour as a whole, it’s been a positive thing for us because now we know where we are.”Zimbabwe may well have pushed South Africa a little harder had Chigumbura been in better form, but he struggled with both bat and ball in the one-dayers, managing 37 runs in three innings and picking up just two wickets for 129 runs in 16 overs. His struggles with the ball, in particular, contributed to a wider malaise in Zimbabwe’s bowling and the visitors’ seamers struggled to make an impression.”There’s plenty of room for improvement, especially in our bowling,” conceded Chigumbura. “We just need to get our skills to the top level, which has been the biggest let-down of the whole tour. We still have lots of work to do when it comes to control in our bowling. We are alright in the field, but our execution with the ball is where we’re not getting it right.”Chigumbura suggested that a preponderance of flat, batsman-friendly wickets had exposed Zimbabwe’s frailties rather more harshly than might have been the case if conditions had been more suited to seam and swing. “That’s the big difference,” he said.”If you play on flat wickets your margin of error is so small, and that’s when your real skills come into play. Our skills on flat wickets are not yet where we want them to be, and that’s something we need to work on with the World Cup coming up in the subcontinent and our tour to Bangladesh.”Zimbabwe’s next assignment is a trip to Bangladesh. Although the fixture list has not yet been finalised, the tour will give them vital experience in conditions similar to what they’ll encounter at the World Cup in February.”It’s going to be good to be playing Bangladesh in their sort of conditions. In a way it was also good to play against top level opposition on flat decks here, so hopefully when we go to Bangladesh our skill level will have gone up and we’ll have a better understanding of the importance of control in our bowling. I have been following their series against New Zealand, they’ve been playing very well. You know what to expect from them – they’re going to use their spinners to attack – so when we go home we’re going to be working on playing spin and also on our bowling. But our batting is good at the moment.”A noticeable omission from Zimbabwe’s squad on this tour was that of Ray Price. Since Zimbabwe’s series against Bangladesh in January last year, Price has picked up 49 wickets at just 25.46 – and that average drops to 23.73 in the 17 games Zimbabwe have won in that time – and Chigumbura suggested his absence had been keenly felt.”We missed Ray price on this tour. Pricey plays a really big role in the team. Unfortunately his father isn’t well so he wasn’t with us this time, but hopefully when we go to Bangladesh he’ll be with us and he’ll help a great deal on the bowling side.”

The Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Mirpur is likely to operate at less than half its capacity during the one-day series between Bangladesh and New Zealand in October because of ongoing renovation work ahead of the 2011 World Cup.The official capacity of the stadium – which will host six World Cup matches, including two quarterfinals – is 26,000 but the BCB will issue a maximum of 10,000 tickets for each match of the New Zealand series. Of these, around 2000-3000 will be complimentary tickets, leaving only 7,000-8,000 seats for the general public.”For the greater interest, we have to accept some difficulties for the coming series,” Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the BCB’s director and tour organising secretary, told the . “Within a very short time we will get a guideline from the local organising committee about the capacity for the series. But the number will not be more than 10,000.”The first ODI between New Zealand and Bangladesh will be played on October 5.

ScorecardNo play was possible on the second day of title-chasing Somerset’s County Championship match with Durham at Taunton.Heavy rain fell throughout the morning and after opting for an early lunch at 12.30pm, umpires Richard Illingworth and Jeremy Lloyds abandoned any prospect of play.Somerset will resume their first innings tomorrow on 287 for 4.

Zulqarnain Haider is in danger of missing the remainder of the Test series due to a finger injury that could have been aggravated when Stuart Broad hurled a ball back at him in frustration during the second Test at Edgbaston. Haider is scheduled to meet a finger specialist when the team reaches London on Sunday and the team management will take a call – whether to send him back or retain him – based on the diagnosis.”He picked up a hairline fracture to his little finger. We don’t know yet if he will stay but we will wait to hear from the specialist,” Yawar Saeed, Pakistan’s manager told Cricinfo.It is believed that Haider started experiencing pain after being hit on his hand by Broad. Having stopped the ball in his follow through, Broad had thrown the ball back at Haider, who raised his hand to shield himself but was hit on the little finger. The incident happened on the third day of the Edgbaston Test during the second session when Haider and Mohammad Amir were involved in an inspired stonewalling effort. Broad, who admitted his fault, was fined half his match fee by Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC match referee.Haider, on the verge of earning the unwanted honour of getting a king pair on debut, went on to make a resolute 88which injected some steel into an otherwise deflated Pakistan batting. He had first hurt his little finger at a practice session at Leeds during the Australia series, and the pain resurfaced on the eve of the second day of the tour game against Worcestershire at New Road. Another team source told Cricinfo that Haider is all but set to return home soon. “The doctor has said that he [Haider] will take one month to heal with or without operation. So he is bound to be out of the series,” the official said.Haider complained of pain and subsequent X-rays at a local hospital in Worcester revealed a minor fracture to the bone in the finger, a step up from what was initially a minor injury.Haider was drafted into the team on the eve of the Edgbaston Test after the Pakistan team management felt their first-choice keeper Kamran Akmal needed to rest and sort out the mistakes he was committing with regularity. Akmal was struck on his right eye during practice on Friday and was holding an ice pack but is under no threat of missing out if called.Haider gained fair points for his technical skills behind the stumpseven if he failed to latch on to a couple of chances in the second innings.

by 291 runs
Scorecard
Craig Ervine’s century was the centerpiece of Zimbabwe XI’s competitive first-innings total at the VRA ground in Amstelveen. Though there weren’t any big scores from any of the other batsmen, Ervine’s third first-class hundred pushed Zimbabwe to nearly 300 against Netherlands on the first day.Zimbawe were in early trouble after choosing to bat losing their first three wickets for eight runs by the third over. All three early wickets were taken by medium-pacer Berend Westdijk, who was playing only his third first-class match. However, opener Stuart Matsikenyeri and Ervine prompted a recovery by adding 80 runs for the third wicket before Matsikenyeri was lbw.Ervine was involved in a couple of other substantial partnerships, both of which he dominated – 83 with Ed Rainsford for the sixth and 75 with wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva for the seventh. Ervine was then dismissed for 145, following which there were two more quick wickets and Zimbabwe finished up on 298.The Netherlands reply got off to a poor start in the five overs they have to face before stumps. Nick Statham was run out without facing a ball, and the other opener Eric Szwarczynski was bowled by Natsai Mushangwe in the fourth over as Netherlands ended the day on 7 for 2.

Ricky Ponting might be able to teach Shahid Afridi something about rebuilding. Or Salman Butt. Or whoever captains Pakistan next. For the past couple of years, Ponting has been restructuring his side, if not from the ground up then close to it. And now, he’s confident that he has the team required to take Australia forward.Just as Pakistan are now facing life without Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan – and the soon-to-retire-again Afridi – Australia have had to find replacements for their stars in recent seasons. Since the start of 2008 baggy greens have been handed to 17 new players, including Tim Paine and Steven Smith at Lord’s this week, and finally the results are beginning to flow.They’ve now won seven consecutive Tests, and 13 in a row against Pakistan, which is a record for any country over any other nation. Ponting is optimistic about the progress his side has made, and with Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris all hoping to be fit in time for the Ashes, he is pleased with the position the Australians have reached.”It’s not about rebuilding now for us,” Ponting said after the 150-run win at Lord’s. “I feel that we’re through that and once we get all our guys back to full fitness we’re going to put a really formidable side on the park, which is a really good sign for us. Seven straight now and that’s 13 straight against Pakistan, which is another good record to have over them.”Things are coming together nicely. Without being silly, we’ve all got one eye on stuff that’s happening later in the year and these steps this week have been good ones in the right direction as far as keeping on improving our Test cricket. We’ve got a few more Tests to play yet, but things are going well for us.”One of the most impressive aspects of their Lord’s triumph was the emergence of Paine and Smith, who proved themselves to be of Test standard. Despite being outshone by the six-wicket haul from the part-time spinner Marcus North, the team’s designated No. 1 slow bowler Smith showed promising signs by collecting 3 for 51.Steven Smith also impressed Ricky Ponting during his first outing in Test cricket•Getty Images

The ball that would have excited Australia’s selectors the most was a delivery that deceived a well-set Kamran Akmal, a quicker, fuller ball that turned and surprised the batsman to get through his defences. On the final day, Ponting had trusted North ahead of Smith due to the presence of two left-handers at the crease, but he said he could not have asked for any more from the debutant.”He bowled a lot better today than he did in his first spell yesterday,” Ponting said. “He will just continue to grow with confidence and he will put more work on the ball as a result of that and he is just a great kid to have around the side. His enthusiasm is terrific and we did not see the best of him with the bat this game. He is a highly talented batter as well.”Paine delivered an even more professional debut. He was cool-headed in making 47 in the second innings and he was clean and agile behind the stumps, finishing the game with five catches and a stumping. The leg-side effort to remove Butt, who had 92 and was Pakistan’s best hope, was particularly encouraging.North drifted his first delivery past the batsman’s pads, Butt advanced and missed the ball, and like a flash Paine had whipped off the bails. It completed what Ponting called an outstanding debut from Paine, who in four days has gone a long towards securing his place as the long-term No. 2 gloveman behind Haddin.”His work behind the stumps was very sharp,” Ponting said. “It was a great stumping today, one sliding down the leg side behind a left-hander is always a hard one to take. That was a big moment in the game, really. Butt was playing beautifully and they’re the sort of chances you hope your keeper or any of your fielders take. I thought he had an outstanding debut, as did Smith.”It’s that sort of depth that has Ponting looking forward with confidence. The rebuilding is complete, now the finishing touches are being applied.

Vusi Sibanda has been named captain of Zimbabwe XI’s squad for the Intercontinental Cup games against Netherlands and Canada in July.The 15-man squad will be coached by Stephen Mangongo with former Test star, Heath Streak, acting as bowling coach in a tour that represents another important step for Zimbabwe as they look to build their reserves ahead of a possible return to Test cricket next year.Sibanda made 209 against Kenya in Kwekwe, in Zimbabwe’s last outing at the Intercontinental Cup last October and he hopes to continue the good run. “It does not really matter who we play against in the next matches, we will not be intimidated by any team on field so long as we stick to the game plan and perform our role,” he said.”Cricket in Zimbabwe is drastically climbing the ladder and we will make use of experienced coaches and senior players in the squad. It will have to be a case of clinical efficiency in everything that we do and we are still in a comfortable position because we have not yet lost a match and have the most games in hand.”Zimbabwe XI are in fourth position with 23 points in the tournament after beating Kenya and sharing the spoils in a weather-interrupted game against Afghanistan and Sibanda thinks the tour will help his side progress.”We are really looking forward to the tour, it will be easy to gel as a team because we all play first-class cricket with or against each other at domestic level. All I expect from the guys is for them to play to their level best, we are making good progress and looking forward to winning all four games in the tour this tour.”Zimbabwe XI squad Vusi Sibanda, Forster Mutizwa, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Charles Coventry, Chamu Chibhabha, Regis Chakabva (wk), Samuel Mwakayeni, Tendai Chatara, Ed Rainsford, Keith Dabengwa, Shingirai Masakadza, Natsai M’Shangwe, Nathan Waller, Timycen Maruma.

Essex 267 beat Gloucestershire 225 by 42 runs
ScorecardDavid Payne served up the best-ever figures by a Gloucestershire bowler inLimited-overs cricket but still finished on the losing side in their CB40 match with Essex at Chelmsford.Payne, a 19-year-old left-arm paceman, claimed 7 for 29, including four wickets in as many balls, but was unable to prevent a 42-run defeat.Thanks to a superb 116 by Grant Flower and a swashbuckling 84 from Ryan tenDoeschate, Essex posted 267 all out, to which the visitors responded with 225 in 37.3 overs.Essex lost their last five wickets in a remarkable 40th over bowled by Payne. He took wickets with the first four deliveries, including that of Flower who was caught on the long-off boundary after collecting 11 fours and one six in his 103-ball effort. Chris Marshall was then run out from the last ball of the innings.Having got rid of Ten Doeschate and Graham Napier in his previous over, itmeant that Payne had picked up six wickets in the space of eight deliveries. But his efforts were to go unrewarded because of the magnificent partnership between Flower and Ten Doeschate who came together following the dismissal of Alastair Cook for 37.His departure came in the 20th over at which point Gloucestershire lookedfirmly in control. But the fourth-wicket pair were to take the initiative away from the visitors with a stand of 166 in 18 overs.Ten Doeschate was especially ruthless as he plundered 84 from 53 balls. It was a contribution that contained nine fours and two sixes and was brought to an end when he was caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Jonathan Batty.By then the 39-year-old Flower had completed his second successive CB40 century at Chelmsford as he again confirmed what a superb batsman hestill is in the one-day game.Gloucestershire were soon in trouble when they replied, losing Batty and James Franklin in the first couple of overs. William Porterfield and Hamish Marshall revived them with a partnership of 81 in a dozen overs but never really looked a dominating force.Both were dismissed by left-arm spinner Tim Phillips, Porterfield departing for 65 from 64 balls when he put up a simple return catch after striking nine boundaries. After that, Gloucestershire’s challenge faded, despite anaggressive innings from Steve Snell. He struck a belligerent 57 from 42 deliveries before he was last out, but he was never able to mount a serious threat to Essex’s imposing total.

The Indian taxman’s scrutiny of the mess surrounding the IPL is not necessarily limited to the league’s officials, franchise owners/managers and partner companies. It is understood the income-tax department is also acting on information of certain players receiving illegal payments from their employers.A specific episode under assessment goes back to August 2009, when the IPL announced an amnesty scheme for players linked with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL). Former ICL players who had no international cricket experience were allowed to be signed on by IPL franchises for an annual fee of between Rs 8-20 lakh ($18,000-45,000).There are reports that at least two franchises breached this salary cap and paid individual players in excess of IPL stipulations. The extra payment was made in cash. It is believed in some cases the quantum of ‘black money’ payments was substantial and almost doubled the cricketer’s fee.The IPL imposes salary caps on various categories of cricketers. The ICL amnesty scheme is one example. Players from the Indian squad that won the 2008 ICC Under-19 World Cup were also restricted in what they could earn in a season, depending on their first-class or international experience.Yet, as became evident during the recent Ravindra Jadeja investigation, this regulation was not considered sacrosanct. The Rajasthan Royals cricketer admitted to negotiating with two franchises to play IPL’s third season for a fee of Rs 2 crore ($450,000). Under the IPL rules, he was entitled to only Rs 40 lakh ($90,000). It is unclear how the incremental payment would have been made, had the deal gone through.Suspicions of a tax dodge by cricketers, with the active collaboration of their franchises, may only be the tip of the iceberg. The issue of salaries and salary ceilings is likely to enmesh the IPL in greater controversy in the coming months. In some respects, it is a microcosm of all that is wrong with the manner in which the league has been run. There are perceptions of the law having been broken – as in the case of the cricketers under scrutiny – as well as conflict of interest issues. Whether irregularities or merely angularities, the IPL will need to address these.When the IPL began in 2008, each team was allowed to spend $5 million a year to hire cricketers. For the 2011 season – and beginning with the big auction planned for October 2010, which will see franchises populate their squads for the 2011-13 period – this limit has been raised to $7 million.The idea behind a salary cap was to equalise competition and not give an opportunity to any one franchise, with extensive cash resources, to buy out the best players and use money power to dominate the tournament.The logic was strong and the precedent of the English Premier League (EPL) was there to learn from. In the EPL, teams like Aston Villa and Fulham tend to do well and finish in the first half of the table – but they never win. On the other hand, a Manchester United and a Chelsea are in serious contention for the title year after year. The difference between the two sets of teams is their bank balance.At least in the early years of the IPL, the league authorities were concerned about games or even a full season becoming lopsided and final positions predictable. Today this ‘equalisation’ principle is in danger of being subverted by not just cash payments – over and beyond official salaries – but also other perquisites offered by some franchises to key cricketers. This has been particularly so in case of franchises wholly or largely owned by business corporations.BCCI officials have been worried about instances of regular ‘jobs’ being offered to cricketers by the mother company of their franchise. Earlier this week, another conundrum was thrown up when England batsman Kevin Pietersen was announced as the ambassador of the Whyte & Mackay brand of whiskeys.At one level, this is a perfectly understandable endorsement arrangement. Pietersen is one of the finest cricketers in the world. He has name recall in India, is of South African origin and plays for England. All of these are markets Whyte & Mackay executives said they were focused on, and the Pietersen stamp would help.However, Pietersen bats for the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL. The Bangalore IPL franchise has been bought by the same business group that owns Whyte & Mackay. Is there a conflict of interest here?It’s a tricky question and it is plausible that the two motivations – hiring Pietersen as a player for a cricket team and as an ambassador for a whisky brand – are different.Nevertheless the IPL is also at the cusp of fervid inter-season lobbying and negotiation as teams try and retain talent and persuade star cricketers to possibly drop out of the October auction and stay on with the old franchise. Salaries will be discussed; the equivalent of loyalty bonuses and golden handcuffs could figure in the conversation.How does Pietersen’s endorsement of a sister brand of the Royal Challengers fit into this? Will it give other cricketers and other franchises ideas? How does it square up with IPL’s ‘equalisation’ norm? At some stage before Season IV, those questions will have to be clarified.

The Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) will use fogging machines to reduce the menace created by moths attracted to lights during the IPL matches. Ahmedabad hosted its first IPL game on March 15 – Rajasthan Royals lost to Delhi Daredevils – but the players and spectators had to endure an army of moths. The insects swarmed over the entire ground, including the stands and the media box, making it difficult for the players and everyone else to sight the ball clearly. The seriousness of the issue was highlighted by Shane Warne and Virender Sehwag after the match and both voiced their concern and irritation about the moths. “A couple [of moths] hit me in the eye when [Shaun] Tait was bowling and I was in the slips. Lucky that nobody nicked, otherwise I could’ve got hurt,” Warne said.Sehwag was more direct. “[I was] Very much distracted because it is difficult to focus on the ball when you are running, and it is scary when some moth comes and hits you in the eye,” Sehwag, who was the Man of the Match for his aggressive half-century, said. He had a similar experience during the 2009 IPL in South Africa, when an insect got into his eye, and hence he was wearing night glasses as a precaution.Embarrassed by the incident, GCA officials are confident there would be no moth menace during Saturday’s match between Rajasthan and Kolkata Knight Riders, which starts at 4 pm. “We have been using the fogging machines inside and outside of the ground for the last two days after six in the evening, as the moths come out in huge numbers in the evening,” Rajesh Patel, the GCA secretary said. He also said a private firm would be carrying out a pesticide treatment throughout the ground from eight in the morning on Friday, followed by another round of fogging later in the evening.Dhiraj Parasana, who has been Motera’s curator since the venue was inducted into the BCCI fold, said the spring-summer season was usually the breeding period for insects and that the floodlights were another attraction. “It is typical for the moths to appear at this time of the year especially under lights,” Parsana said. “My experience says it will reduce, being a day game. It will be a lesser problem as the game should end by 7.30 pm and the moths appear normally after the lights come on fully.”